Here’s Why Ben Seewald’s Calvinist Beliefs Are a Problem for the Duggar Family

We're not going to lie, we think Jessa Duggar's man Ben Seewald is actually the best Duggar husband (except maybe Jeremy Vuolo.) However, reports claim that Jim Bob Duggar has a problem with Ben because of his Calvinist-leaning beliefs, while the Duggars call themselves Independent Fundamentalist Baptists (and seem to follow many of the teachings of the Quiverfull movement.) Both groups are devout Christians, so what differences could possibly cause a family rift?

Southern Baptist Calvinists believe in something called "predestination," which means that God has pre-determined plans for each person — all people will sin, but God has chosen some to save, and others not to, no matter what they do in life. Ben seems to echo this sentiment on his website, writing "I believe that Jesus purchased my salvation with his blood, and by God's grace and mercy, I am now a Christian soldier fighting under Christ's banner. I want to follow where Christ leads me."

However, IFB believers like the Duggars think that if you follow God's teachings, you can do no wrong. Any sin you commit happens because you neglected God, not because he allowed you to do it. It may not seem like such a huge deal to an outsider, but to Jim Bob, it means that his grandchildren could sin and then end up in hell.

There is still a lot that the two sects have in common. Both see children as a gift, and view using contraception as going against God's will. The whole family sees abortion as murder of unborn children, though Calvinism seems to be more lax about other things, like homosexuality and drinking.

Though Ben has not outright explained his religion, he mourned the loss of R.C. Sproul when he died in December 2017, further proving that he's a Calvinist. R.C. helped popularize Reformed theology, otherwise known as Calvinism, and when he died, Ben wrote, "This man was, and still is, devoted to His God." Hopefully, these differences don't cause a wound too deep to fix in the family!